In Greek mythology, Cassandra was a princess whose beauty caused Apollo to grant her the gift of prophecy. But when she didn’t return his love, Apollo placed a curse on her so no one would believe her predictions. Her predicament is used to illustrate the ironic condition of mankind.

I’ve touched on the subject of preparedness numerous times in my WND columns. Over and over I’ve advised folks to prepare for the hard economic times I believe are coming. With a national debt that now exceeds 100 percent of our GDP, I don’t see any future for our nation that doesn’t include massive inflation, the debasement of our fiat currency and perhaps an economic collapse.

With these cheery possibilities, people still don’t seem to “get it.” I’m beginning to feel like Cassandra.

Last year I received an interesting comment on my blog from a reader named Dave after he experienced a massive snowstorm. He wrote:

Of course we knew that this storm was coming, and how much snow we would be getting (about two feet so far), so we made preparations – getting in firewood, closing up outbuildings, battening down the hatches. As I was making my preparations I could see our goats frolicking in their pasture enjoying the pre-storm calm, sunny weather. They could see me bustling about being busy doing things that they had no understanding about. My thought as I was watching them was that they had no clue about what was about to befall them … spending days locked up inside their shed where they would get bored, irritable and destructive.

Then I thought that my goats were very much like those people who are completely ignorant of the fact that our country is about to enter a time of major storming. They frolic at the mall, they go about their lives like things are always going to be as they are now. My goats didn’t need to prepare a safe, warm place to weather out the storm because I did it for them. There are people who are depending on the government to do the same for them. What these people don’t realize is that they will suffer the same fate as my goats. I own them. I can do with them as I wish. They have no freedom, no rights. Their lives are completely in my hands.

The people whom Dave references are often called “sheeple” – folks unable or unwilling to think, act, or do for themselves. Preparedness is a non-issue for them because, hey, there will always be someone to take care of them.

What sheeple don’t realize is when they depend on someone else for their basic needs, they are no longer free. Their rights have been surrendered.

I always distinguish between those who cannot help themselves, and those who will not help themselves. There is a huge number of people incapable of preparing: children, the elderly, the disabled … These are the people to whom we must offer our assistance and compassion. These people are not sheeple.

But what about folks who laugh at those of us who feel called to prepare? These people think nothing serious can ever happen to them. They believe bad things only happen to someone else. They believe hard times can never come to our country because we’re Americans. These are your classic sheeple.

Following Dave’s comments, an anonymous poster wrote the following:

It’s later then you think.

Food will be worth more than money in the future.

Someone you know intends to either sponge off you or take what you have when things get tough.

Someone you don’t know intends to either sponge off you or take what you have when things get tough.

By the time it becomes obvious to everyone it will be too late to prepare.

If you don’t prepare, then you are the one planning on sponging off someone you know or to take what they have when things get tough.

I can’t tell you how many times someone has said, “Well, when times get tough, I’ll just move in with you.” And this truly is the extent of their contingency plans. These are the people who believe, presumably with a straight face, that they have a right to mooch off someone else. Classic arrogant, ignorant sheeple behavior.

So what keeps people from preparing? Putting aside honest-to-goodness problems such as unemployment, age, or disability, people don’t prepare for one main reason: denial.

Denial is the stupidest possible reason not to prepare. It means you’re too caught up in image and appearance, too concerned with “What will the neighbors think?” if you stockpile beans, bullets and Band-Aids. It’s about fooling yourself that you will never be caught in a hurricane, blizzard, flood, tornado, earthquake, wildfire, or terrorist attack … or economic failure.

But if you’re still concerned with appearances, then fortunately prepping can be done quietly and unobtrusively. Stashing supplies in a garage, basement, or under the bed is generally not noticeable. Learning whatever you can about first-aid or gardening and acquiring a library of reference books won’t be apparent to anyone else. Forming ties in your community is just the neighborly thing to do.

I don’t want to be the one planning to sponge off someone else. I have no intention of frolicking at the mall while our economy is going down the tubes. I have no intention of giving up my freedoms and my rights because I’m too lazy or too much in denial to stock my pantry and secure some form of self-protection. I don’t want to be the one forced to live in a shelter when the power goes out because I have no way to heat my home or cook some food.

While we can’t prepare for everything – tornadoes will destroy whatever is in their path, the homes of both the prepared and the unprepared – the fact is most people remain in denial that anything bad could ever happen to them.

C’mon, folks, don’t be sheeple. The important thing to remember about Cassandra isn’t that people didn’t believe her. It’s that she was right.